I dont study Japanese but I really want to learn. I have a big kanji dictionary covering over 2000 kanji, a book about Japanese gramar and a small dictionary. I know very little Japanese as of now and most of it I learned from watching anime.

I think you should put <の> after <たった> in that phrase. So, <たったの初心者です>.

ILuvEire wrote:あなたは日本語何歳学びますか？

<何歳> is used for age. Probably best to use <いつから> there. You also should probably use a plural pronoun here, since it seems like you're addressing everyone. So, <あなたがたは日本語をいつから学びますか？> is probably better.

<何歳> is used for age. Probably best to use <いつから> there. You also should probably use a plural pronoun here, since it seems like you're addressing everyone. So, <あなたがたは日本語をいつから学びますか？> is probably better.

Japanese as well as Korean have never attracted me though. The reason? I don't know... Maybe it's because I've always felt they're both too contaminated by Chinese and English (well, and to be contaminated by English also means to be contaminated by Old French, Old Norse, Latin, and who knows what other languages ). Plus, Japanese looks scary from afar.

Japanese as well as Korean have never attracted me though. The reason? I don't know... Maybe it's because I've always felt they're both too contaminated by Chinese and English (well, and to be contaminated by English also means to be contaminated by Old French, Old Norse, Latin, and who knows what other languages ). Plus, Japanese looks scary from afar.

Thread hijacking eh?

I know English fluently and some Japanese. I am learning Chinese but I only know a little now. I guess I'm a little interested in Korean. Next time I go to Japan I'd buy a book to learn Korean there (Japanese is similar to Korean, and it would be fun to learn a language with your L2), but I don't think I'd have an opportunity to learn Korean for the time being. (I'm soon going to a place for a while where people would look down on me if they found out I was learning Korean, so yeah.)

I also want to learn Malay one day because if I learn it, it would make me feel better somewhat for forgetting my mother's language. (A Malay-like language, we call it Malay but it is apparently isn't very intelligible to modern Malaysian Malay.) Malaysia is also on my "cool places to live" list. (Which also includes Hong Kong, Ryūkyū, and Taiwan)

Japanese as well as Korean have never attracted me though. The reason? I don't know... Maybe it's because I've always felt they're both too contaminated by Chinese and English (well, and to be contaminated by English also means to be contaminated by Old French, Old Norse, Latin, and who knows what other languages ). Plus, Japanese looks scary from afar.

Thread hijacking eh?

I'm sorry about that. I wanted to hear you guys countering back with reasons to learn Japanese, that's all.

Japanese as well as Korean have never attracted me though. The reason? I don't know... Maybe it's because I've always felt they're both too contaminated by Chinese and English (well, and to be contaminated by English also means to be contaminated by Old French, Old Norse, Latin, and who knows what other languages ). Plus, Japanese looks scary from afar.

Thread hijacking eh?

I'm sorry about that. I wanted to hear you guys countering back with reasons to learn Japanese, that's all.

Oh. I thought you wanted to ask me and posted here because you figured I'd actually look at this thread. No need to be sorry either, I don't mind; I just misunderstood. (Though this is not my thread.)

As for why to learn Japanese... hmm... I dunno. Definitely a messed up language. (If that floats your boat.) If you are into anime/drama/games/comics it is useful for lots of stuff I guess. You are learning Chinese though aren't you? That doesn't make you interested in the other Chinese-derived languages?

How does that work then? Because (I think) Cantonese almost always write in Mandarin (except in informal situations), so you pretty much end up learning Mandarin with it, though I guess maybe you can't pronounce it.

Do you learn both written Cantonese and written Mandarin?

Do you learn only written Mandarin and 'translate' words you wrote into Cantonese when you read them out loud? (I guess this is the most likely, but kinda eww)

Do you learn only written Mandarin and read them out directly which can apparently be "formal Cantonese"? (I doubt it. Wouldn't really be "Cantonese")

Or do you learn only written Cantonese? (I doubt it, nobody does this. Would be kinda cool though.)

For stuff like this I think everyone should still write in Literary Chinese. So much simpler. X_X